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Bristol is an independent city in Virginia, bounded by Washington County, Virginia and Sullivan County, Tennessee. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 17,367. It is the twin city of Bristol, Tennessee, just across the state line, which runs down the middle of its main street, State Street. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Bristol, Virginia with Washington county for statistical purposes. Along with Kingsport, Tennessee and Johnson City, Tennessee the Bristols form the Tri-Cities.
Geography
Bristol is located at (36.611116, -82.176193).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 34.1 km² (13.2 mi²). 33.4 km² (12.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.7 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (2.05%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 17,367 people, 7,678 households, and 4,798 families residing in the city. The population density was 519.8/km² (1,346.4/mi²). There were 8,469 housing units at an average density of 253.5/km² (656.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.54% White, 5.57% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 1.08% from two or more races. 0.97% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 7,678 households out of which 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.5% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.78.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.3% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 82.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,389, and the median income for a family was $34,266. Males had a median income of $28,420 versus $20,967 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,311. About 13.2% of families and 16.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.8% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.
Government
As of July 4, 2006, the following individuals were major figures in Bristol's government:
- Mayor Farnham Jarrard
- Vice Mayor Harold C. Leonard
- City Manager Paul Spangler
- Assistant City Manager Bill Dennison
- City Attorney Walt Bressler
- City Clerk Steve Allen
- Councilmember James F. Rector
- Councilmember Frank Goodpasture, III
- Councilmember Fred T. Bowman
Technology
Despite its relatively small size, Bristol, Virginia boasts one of the most advanced broadband networks in the country. Bristol Virginia Utilities, BVU OptiNet (BVU) started planning a fiber optic deployment in the city in the late 1990’s. By the year 2001, BVU had been granted approval by the City Council of Bristol for a full deployment of a Fiber to the premises (FTTP or FTTU, fiber to the user). This project was to offer competition to local incumbents and provide broadband Internet, cable TV, and telephone service to the residents of Bristol. This deployment was one of the first of its kind in the United States and was widely watched by the telecommunications industry. A system known as Passive optical network (PON) was successfully deployed to over 6000 customers in a matter of 2 years.
Today, Bristol Virginia is still one of only a few FTTU deployments in the country with a significant amount of customers online. Bristol’s twin, Bristol Tennessee is also deploying a FTTU system similar to their neighbors across the state line.
Professional Sports
Bristol hosts the Bristol White Sox baseball team of the Appalachian League.
Bristol is also the location of Bristol Motor Speedway, a NASCAR Nextel Cup track.
Television Stations
WCYB-TV in Bristol, VA (NBC Channel 5)
External links
"Bristol, Virginia"